Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kyrgyzstan on Monday.

The three national leaders will later attend the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a Eurasian group of nations seeking to improve security and economic ties.

Originally a five-member regional group that included China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan which signed its first agreement in Shanghai, the SCO has since expanded to become the biggest regional organizations for cooperation. It includes ten permanent members, 15 dialogue partners and two observer states.

The group has a range of political, security and economic goals and has been called by its members a key mechanism in transition to a new multipolar world system, replacing the period of US unipolarity that followed the Cold War.

The SCO states say Western nations are engaging in increasingly hostile and disruptive activity as their global dominance slips away, and having a forum where other nations can agree on joint responses to new challenges becomes more important.

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31 August 2026

18:03 GMT

According to the Tehran Times, de-dollarization is among the issues expected to be discussed at the SCO summit in Bishkek, with Iran pushing to reduce Western sanctions pressure and expand regional trade.

The Islamic Republic has reportedly proposed a Shanghai Development Bank based on member states' national currencies rather than the US dollar. Iranian lawmaker Hassan Qashqavi told the paper that dollar dominance remains a source of economic pressure on Tehran, but the country still has options.

17:30 GMT

Putin has also met with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in Bishkek, according to a RIA Novosti correspondent.

Talks are reportedly taking place at the Ala-Archa state residence, where the Russian leader is holding a series of meetings after arriving in Kyrgyzstan on Monday.